Illinois Gov. Quinn facing ongoing investigation

Published: Wednesday, July 16, 2014 7:23 a.m. CDT

CHICAGO – Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, locked into a competitive re-election bid, is fighting to maintain an image as a reformer who's cleaned up state government as questions about a now-defunct anti-violence program he started in the run-up to his 2010 election threaten to hang over his campaign for months.

On Wednesday, a bipartisan commission of lawmakers agreed to grant federal prosecutors' request to wait to call a number of former Quinn administration officials they subpoenaed to testify about the program, which a state audit recently concluded had "pervasive" problems, including misuse of funds. But Democrats rejected Republicans' push to set schedule that testimony for October – just weeks before the Nov. 4 election. Lawmakers recessed until Thursday without a plan on how to proceed.

Federal prosecutors had asked lawmakers to hold off on calling the officials for 90 days to avoid any conflicts with their criminal investigation.

Republicans, who see the gubernatorial election this year as a chance to win control of a Democratic-leaning state, have alleged Quinn used money from the $55 million Neighborhood Recovery Initiative as a political slush fund to secure votes in predominantly minority neighborhoods of heavily Democratic Chicago in a tight race. Quinn has denied that claim and says he has "zero tolerance" for fraud or abuse. He's also defended the intent of the program, which provided mentorship, job training, counseling and other help for ex-convicts in Chicago's violence-plagued neighborhoods.

Regardless of whether there was any wrongdoing, the allegations alone could be damaging for Quinn, who often touts the steps he's taken to turn Illinois around after the last two governors went to prison for corruption. His GOP rival, Bruce Rauner, meanwhile, has worked to paint Quinn as just another insider.

"The one thing (Quinn) does have and always has had is a reputation for integrity," said Chris Mooney, a political studies professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

The Legislative Audit Commission oversees state audits and must approve one that concluded that the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative was hastily put together, poorly managed and that some funds never went to violence prevention efforts. Quinn has said he shut down the program in 2012 when concerns about possible misspending arose.

Quinn's office also says it has instructed all state agencies to support any law enforcement inquiries. Senate Republican spokeswoman Patty Schuh says Quinn's office provided members of the Legislative Audit Commission about 2,000 emails linked to the program.

Six witnesses who'd been asked to appear told the commission through their attorneys that they wouldn't do so, in deference to prosecutors' request. A seventh appeared but said he's "not ready" to testify.

Quinn, who was traveling to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, signed a new law that strengthen rules for how the state awards and oversees grants.

"What happened with the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative program was unacceptable and should never happen at any state agency," he said in a statement. "When I learned of these issues, I took responsibility by defunding the program and shutting it down, and today I am instituting the strongest reforms in the nation."

Prosecutors have given lawmakers the green light to collect documents from witnesses. Six witnesses indicated they would turn over any relevant communications by Thursday if they have any. Former senior adviser Billy Ocasio said he didn't have any such documents.

The 12-member commission is split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, though one Democrat was absent. Nine votes were needed to set a new date to call the witnesses.

Democrats – who are looking to curb the critical headlines – balked at Republicans' attempt to set a firm date of Oct 7, saying it would be tough to undo if prosecutors haven't completed their work. Republicans, eager to hammer on Quinn administration missteps in an election year, said they want to learn what went wrong and prevent a repeat.

Quinn ascended to the governor's office in 2009 when lawmakers ousted Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich after Blagojevich was arrested on federal corruption charges. Quinn won his first full term in 2010, beating Republican state Sen. Bill Brady by a slim margin.